5 Korean celebrities who gained weight for K-drama and film roles – from Netflix’s My Name star Han So-hee and Squid Game’s Heo Sung-tae, to It’s Okay, That’s Love actress Lee Sung-kyung

Oct 29 , 2021

Squid Game’s Heo Sung-tae, My Name’s Han So-hee, and Lee Sung-kyung all gained weight for their respective roles. Photos: @heosungtae, @heybiblee/Instagram; Agence France-Presse

Yoo Seung-ho’s weight gain for his role in Memorist garnered criticism, while Lee Sung-kyung’s acting in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo earned her awards

Han So-hee gained 10kg through intense exercise and an indulgent diet to take on the role of cold-blooded undercover police officer Yoon Ji-woo in My Name

Just like losing a large amount of weight in a short amount of time can be detrimental to one’s health, so can putting on too much weight too quickly – even if it’s muscle. But that’s exactly what these Korean actors did for their film and TV roles.

So which celebrities filled out their physiques, and how did they do it?

Han So-hee (My Name)

Han So-hee before and after gaining weight. Photos: @xeesoxee/Instagram, Agence France-Presse

Joining K-biz in 2016 with small appearances in K-pop music videos, actress Han So-hee became a global superstar with her role as the wealthy and naive mistress Yeo Da-kyung in The World of the Married. Han’s acting talent was once again in the spotlight when she portrayed cold-blooded and vengeful undercover police officer in Netflix series My Name. The K-drama star even performed most of her action scenes by herself! To prepare for the role, she gained 10kg of muscle through intense exercise and an indulgent diet, according to Asia One.

Heo Sung-tae (Squid Game)

Heo Sung-tae before and after his weight gain. Photos: @heosungtae/Instagram

Salesman-turned-actor Heo Sung-tae fell in love with acting by chance after he entered the talent show Miraculous Audition. Although he starred in several films and TV series such as The Age of Shadows, The Outlaws and Rampant, he only reached global prominence after portraying Player 101 Jang Deok-su in the hit Netflix series Squid Game. Heo revealed that to perfect the look of the villain, he had to put on 15-17kg in less than a month, which he claimed had adverse impacts on his health, according to Ladbible.

Yoo Seung-ho (Memorist)